A Little Red March...

...a little red 1985 K10 Nissan March?

Actually, no..

Imagine I was being a little more pedantic with the capitalisation, combined with recycling of an older joke somewhat...

A Little Red March - a March of Little Red!

Simply a post combining a handful of pics of Little Red the AW11 over the last month. Interesting enough. It'll do..!

Had taken it to the TCCAV (Toyota Car Club Victoria) Cars, Coffee, and Donuts meet, the weekend before last. Later that day I changed the rear bumper support bar over for a better item I'd gotten a couple months back. Uneventful, but hey.. may as well have my best one on the actual car!

To the woman in the Hilux on her way to a rave, the three motorcyclists, the young kid in the Surf who rolled up after the car slipped off the jack and another foot or so into the ditch, and the guy in the Hilux who finally brought a towstrap to the party; thank you. Definitely in the top-five most retarded things I'd done this arvo..

..which could've been a bit of a waste, when only a weekend later I almost had the thing fall backwards into a damn ditch!
However you'd think this happened, I can assure you, you'd be wrong. The lead-up to the car being beached on soft dirt, and nearly falling back into a drain-hole, is too ridiculous to try and comprehend. Think low speed.. and as such, there is absolutely no damage to the car whatsoever. Just a little dirt underneath, and an hour of embarrassment trying to get the car back on its wheels..!
 

45minutes and a quick stop by the carwash after having it beached on a damn embankment; Little Red.

..and one other - *the* other - pic I'd quickly snapped later yesterday evening. Seen it all before, and very similar to the other pic.. but eh, shows a little more wheel here I suppose!

Little Red, a setting sun, and a tight right-hander you don't want to miss..

Creepily chasing down a group of MX5's going for an innocent cruise... at 10:30 on a Sunday night. Because there's nothing *quite* like hitting a kangaroo in a small convertible... 



That's all for now!

80sHaro: the 1987 Haro Freestyler Sport.

Yes, another bike post.

Apologies to anyone less-than-interested in old pushies; it'll all be over soon.. I promise..!
Me? I love em. Bugger gears, appropriately-sized frames, and general practicality - if I'm going to have a bike, it may as well be interesting.
...and as I no doubt mentioned in the Master post recently, it's 80's Haro in particular.
They may be a little bread-and-butter to some; but were top of the market, hugely popular, had great designs, and are iconic of 80's freestyle BMX. The Sport and Master are the top of the Haro tree, and since they were improved every year until freestyle started to fade in popularity, an '87 Sport like the one below are somewhat a technical high-point of the Freestyler series of bikes..

The same bike Ron WIlkerson chooses for both ramp and flatland. 100% 4130 chromoly frame and fork featuring versatile all-around easy handling. All the same fine frame and fork features also found on our Master with the exception of these differences: two-into-one top tube, 73.5' head angle, longer wheelbase.
1987 SPORT: Haro CrMo w/integral rear platforms, traction pegs, wrap around gussets, 2into1 top tubes, chain stay mounted brake bosses, cable guides, specialized all round geometry. Forks: Haro CrMo w/tapered legs & wrap around flip up steps. Bars: Haro two tone CrMo w/dropped & Knurled cross bar.

Now while what I've got isn't the highest-specced 'Team' (as in, for the Haro BMX team..) variation of the Sport, its still bloody lovely..! Remaining largely original and unmolested isn't easy for a 30year old BMX, and just adds so much to a bike like this to me.
I seriously had to jump through damn hoops for months to get a hold of this bike.

Worth it.

Last weekend, loaded up into the 4Runner and taken for a drive. Good location sorted, then waiting.. waiting.. waiting.. for the sun to set right. I'm a little so-so at photography in general, so I'm not all that flexible with things like this!

Late 1987 Haro Freestyler Sport.
The late '87 production means it sits in the crossover between 1987 and 1988 - a '1987.5' - a mixture of parts of both years, with its own colourway. Unfortunately I cant find a spot-on brochure for these, but just look at the 1987 and 1988 brochures linked below... and mix them together a little in your mind. I assure you it should look something like this.
This bike really is largely very original, save for a handful of when-new changes. The tyres and grips the only modern/reproduction bits I've added.
Its amazing how gentle the use must have had over the last couple decades, with little more than some 90's seat-slammage taking the paint off the seat post. There's a heap of chips and marks to the original paint, but overall..? Subtle patina that only adds to it IMO. I love this thing.

Straight to this little slice of 1987: the Peregrine 'Compact Disc' 44tooth sprocket/chainwheel.

 KMC chain..

The MUCH more effective chanstay-mounted 990 U-brake introduced in 1987. Seriously so much better...

The updated, enlarged, rear standing platforms; with small studs added to the chainstays for extra grip..

Victor VP 500 pedals..

Possibly my favourite part here. The final evolution of the built-in fork standers? The 1987-onwards wraparound, flip-up, standers. These things are fantastic, and damn cool...

Dia-Compe FS-883 'Nippon'..

Still has the Dia-Compe brake-pads front and rear..

Dia-Compe brake adjuster... Patent pending...

Dia-Compe Tech-77 levers, with the locking buttons I love so much...

A'ME Tri..

Nice wear on the Haro Group 1 stem...

Early days for the Odyssey Gyro too, with 1987 being the first year on the Haro's.. and a part that like those rear brakes, would go on for years to come. Works very well, despite being (for me at least!) a little painful to setup and adjust..

Original paint and decals over the chrome frame. Black-to-blue-to-chrome, with white and teal highlights. Goood...

The Sport's two-into-one top tube..

Peregrine seat clamp..

Viscount Dominator..

100% 4130 chromoly frame and fork...

SKYWAY O.E. Reg. Design No. 84592.
The Skyway 6-spoke mags, usually found on the FSX in it's day..

Done.

As mentioned above; it's not perfect, but really is all the better for it IMO. I like it more than a restored one the same.. so pretty much don't plan to do anything to this one other than gently cruising about..!
So yep; that's all on this for now. Something a little different to the usual cars and bits, but I imagine interesting nonetheless!








For a better look at some 80's Haro Brochures, or period magazine reviews, check out..:
http://www.ajkbikes.com/downloads/catalogs/catalogs.htm
http://www.harofreestyler.com/#!haro-catalogs/c5rn
http://oldschoolmags.com/tests_and_reviews.html